The Seven Last Words

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? ( KJV)

The event ...Passover

What a phenomenal day it was. Unlike any simon had ever experience before. A phenomenal day.

Only days before Simon left his home country of Cyrene, on the continent of Africa to visit the temple at Jerusalem. A journey his foremothers had done for centuries, since the time of Alexander the great.

The Ethiopians had been doing this even longer. They have been doing it, since the time of King Solomon, when Makeda first learned about the story of Yahweh’s people and of their king Solomon, the man of African descent, who sat up the Israelite’s throne.

Simon made it a family trip.

Alexander and Rufus, his sons, were excited to go with their father.

He was their mentor, their idol, and many times in the past, he told them about the city of Jerusalem , the temple, and the God they worshiped, and now they too having passed the age of 12, have the opportunity to travel with their father to the Holy City Jerusalem.

This was the Passover time, it represented the time, when the children of Israel were slaves on the continent of Africa, and God sent Moses to deliver them with a mighty hand.

This was the Passover, it was the story of An angel of death who came by that night, because the pharaoh demonstrated no fear of Israel’s God. Door by door, and house by house, the angel moved, snuffing out the life of firstborn after firstborn, if the blood stain did not mark each door.

I the blood stain

and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. ( KJV)

The blood stain I john 1:7

The blood stain, on the door, represented the blood of Jesus that had the power to take away our sins, the blood stain,

The blood stain, on the door said, all was dead, unless the blood was applied to their lives.

The blood stain, on the door has been immortalized and glamorized in such songs as.

The blood that Jesus shed for me.

Are you washed in the blood,

I know it was the blood,

The cleansing stream, I see, I see, I plunged and oh it clesenth me, oh praise the lord it cleanseth me, it cleanseth me, it clenseth me.

and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. ( KJV)

African children

Thousands of African children died that at the first Passover, due to the choices of their parents.

Now alexander and rufus, African Boys, knew their stories, and the significance of the blood stains.

And it still is true, the blood needs to be applied, for us and our children to live.

There really is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel vein

And sinners plunge beneath the flood, loose all their guilty stains,

We and our children are destined to die, unless we come to our senses, and plead the blood of Jesus.

says it best.

The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. ( KJV)

It was God who executed such an acts of Judgement against the African King and his people, who asked Who is Yahweh, that I should let his people god.

The Red Sea

As the family walked by the red sea, they talked about the black bodies which had washed upon the shore, when the Pharaoh, tried to follow Moses and the Children of Israel through the red sea.

That sea, the Red Sea, fed by the nile flowing from Mount Kilamanjaro, has been theirs for centuries. Without the Nile which fed the red sea, Egypt would not exist.

The Egyptians thought they knew that sea.

There as the family passed by, in its harbor was the lighthouse of Alexandria, 450 feet tall, One of tallest manmade structures in the world for centuries, and one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Placed there as a watchman above that sea, they considered it their sea.

So when it parted, and the water stood like wall of protection for the Israelites to pass, they thought there was no danger in pursuing. This was their sea, fed by their Nile, the river that guaranteed their existence.

But what a tragic mistake that was. For the mighty waters of the sea came down upon them and they died, thousands died that day. And Black bodies, washed upon the shore.

And it still is true that those who defy God will die,

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. ( KJV)

And it is also true, that those who obey God, will live.

Obey and live, disobey and die.

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. ( KJV)

And there is no other name under heaven whereby man might be saved, than the name if Jesus

The city

Finally they neared the city.

Before them lay the temple in its glory, now bathed in the light of the declining sun.

All eyes were fastened on the Temple, That glorious structure.

The place where God met with them so many times before.

The temple, where Solomon had prayed, and God’s presence filled the house.

The Temple, where the ark of the Covenant once was, and the shekinah glory of God could be seen.

The Temple. In stately grandeur it towered above all else, seeming to point toward heaven itself as if directing the people to the only true and living God.

The temple. The pride and glory of the Jewish nation embellished by the Romans with gifts of richness, and magnificence which had made it as one of the wonders of the world. The Temple

The bright sunshine bounced of those white marble walls in resplendent glory as a sparkle gleamed from it gold capped pillars.

The Temple. It golden vines at it's doors with green leaves and massive clusters of grapes crafted by the most skillful artists signified Israel as a prosperous vine, shining as if with a glory borrowed from heaven. The Temple

Spellbound by the sudden vision of beauty. All were anxious to enter the city to join the celebration.

But what is this.

They were expecting a celebration.

To see, lambs, and worshipers, from all around the world, gathered to acknowledge Yahweh’s greatness.

But what they saw, caught them by surprises.

The crowd was great,but this was no temple crowd, this was death squad. A mob, moving, not towards the temple, but towards Golgotha’s hill,

Simon herd the crackling whip, as it tore the flesh of the accused criminal.

He saw the cheering crowd, which laughed and mocked him as he fell to the cold hard floor.

He beheld the callous Soldier, who commanded him, get up, and get moving, as they kicked him, and whipped him.

Who was this man, this helpless criminal so badly abused in the streets of Jerusalem this Passover day.

What does this mean, this trail of blood left behind as he made his way to his place of death.

What crime had he done, that made them treat him so badly that awful crowd.

Daddy, Daddy, Rufus asked, they are beting him to death.

And then it happened.

Jesus fell at the feet of Simon.

and this time, he could not get up.

The heavy cross rested upon him, like an albatross.

He need help. Would someone help him.

Then the soldiers saw him.

Standing tall above the crowd.

His black skin and African outfit testifying he was a travel here.

To Ask a jew to carry this cross, this sign of roman despotism would incite a riot in this street. Steering at the African man and his two sons standing in the crowd, the soldiers cried, you!! Carry that cross.

Simon the Cyrenian Speaks

He never spoke a word to me,

And yet He called my name;

He never gave a sign to me,

And yet I knew and came.

At first I said, "I will not bear

His cross upon my back;

He only seeks to place it there

Because my skin is black."

But He was dying for a dream,

And He was very meek,

And in His eyes there shone a gleam

Men journey far to seek.

It was Himself my pity bought;

I did for Christ alone

What all of Rome could not have wrought

With bruise of lash or stone.

whats going on, whats going on.

Simon picked up that cross, and simon picked up Jesus

And together they walked to Calvary.

African and Jew

The creator and the created

God and man

Humanity and divinity

The human and the divine

The dead and the dying

The saved and the lost

Our hope and the hopeless

The sinner and the sacrifice

African children died the first Passover.

Now an African man is the first to be touched by the blood of the real Passover lamb.

My trophy and crown

Mr robe stained with sin

Is all that we have to lay at his feet.

Unworthy to eat from the table of life

Till His love made the difference for me.

His African robe stained with Christ blood, his African skin, soiled by Christs body fluids. Simon walked.

At Calvary he stood and watched, a partner in an event predicted before the birth of time.

A player in an eternal scene, crafted in the mind of God and his son, before the foundation of the world, that should man sin, Christ his son would come and die in mans place.

He watched this African man, he watched as the nails are driven into the hand of this mans he assisted.

He herd his cries of pain, he saw his anguished face, with each contact of the hammer with the nails, the clang, clang, clang, the piercing rang in Simons head.

He watched as they lifted that cross, and jesus took a deep breath trying to breathe, to get some air into his longs.

Awh, he groaned as the cross was dropped into that hole dug deep enough to keep it upright.

His flesh tore as the force of gravity pulled his body downwards.

All nature reached acted to the unprecedented event.

He who was from the beginning, who by the power of his world had called nature into existence, was now being abused by the his very creations.

He who commanded the forces of heaven, with myriads of angels at his command, would not cry for his army to come to his assistance.

He who by a thought, could free himself, and destroy every enemy in a moment of time, was dying upon a cross.

The sun refused to shine.

The thunder began to roll

An unseen hand ripped upon the most holy place and the lamb upon the alter, ran from the timeple with catlike skill and finally Jesus uppterd those seven last words. Those seven last words.

MY GOD, WHY HAS THOU FORSAKE ME.

God the father and God the son, had always been together.

There never was a time thy were apart.

But now the consequence of sin, had accomplished the impossible.

Not only had it separated God and man, but it also separated, God the father and God the son.

For the first time in their existence, God the son, and God the father were not one.

The sin of man, had consequence even for the Godhead.

Like Simon, the entire universe, stood in stunned silence as the son of God bowed his head and died.

Angels wept, as God the father closed his eyes, as Jesus died.

The son of the omnipotent God died.

They placed his body in a borrowed tomb, that Friday evening.

And for the second time, God rested.

He rested at creation, when he created the sabbath.

He rested on the sabbath he created, when he created mans redemption at Calvary.

Then Sunday morning morning came.

something extraordinary happened, on Sunday morning.

The night of the first day of the week had worn slowly away.

The darkest hour just before daybreak had come.

Jesus was still a prisoner in that narrow tomb.

The great stone was still in place.

The Roman seal was still unbroken,

The Roman guards were keeping their watch.

But there were unseen watchers around that place.

Host of evil angels had gathered there.

Had it been possible, the prince of darkness with his apostate army would have kept forever sealed that tomb that held the Son of God.

But a heavenly host was also there.

Angels that excelled in strength were guarding that tomb.

Waiting to welcome the prince of life.

Then behold there was an earthquake:

The angel of the Lord descended from heaven.

The brightness of Gods glory illuminated His pathway.

The panoply of God was his covering.

His face was not the face of a mortal warrior; no it is the face of the mightiest of God’s angels.

It was he who had taken the position of Lucifer, that fallen angel.

It was he who on the hillside of Bethlehem proclaimed Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace good will towards men, for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord.

The soldiers see him moving the stone as he would a pebble

They hear him declare as the fell as dead men, "son of God, come forth, your Father calls.

And lo there stands Jesus, coming forth out of the grave.

In majesty and glory He comes

Angels bow before Him in adoration and praise.

The sound of the sweetness of mans salvation echoes throughout the universe.

Alas, and did my Savior bleed?

And did my Sovereign die?

Would He devote that sacred head

For someone such as I?

Chorus

At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,

And the burden of my heart rolled away,

It was there by faith I received my sight,

And now I am happy all the day!

Was it for crimes that I have done,

He suffered on the tree?

Amazing pity! grace unknown!

And love beyond degree!

But drops of grief can ne'er repay

The debt of love I owe:

Here, Lord, I give myself away,

'Tis all that I can do!

Song.

I boast not of works, or tell of good deeds, for naught have a done to merit his grace

Unworthy to eat from the table of life.

Till his love made the difference for me.

I will glory in the cross, in the cross.

Lest his suffering all be in vain.

I will weep no more, for the cross that he bore.

I will glory in the cross.

Those words, those seven last words were answered that Sunday morning.

MY God why has thou forsake me.

He was rejected, that I may be accepted.

He was crucified, that I may be coronated.

He was killed, that I may live.

He was forsaken, that I may be received

-9King James Version (KJV)

7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.